Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver takes on the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Live updates
FINAL | Broncos 29, Raiders 19
Courtland Sutton is feeling it.
The Broncos receiver pulled in two touchdowns on eight catches for 97 yards as Denver beat the Raiders, 29-19, on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had another strong performance, completing 25 of 42 passes for 273 yards.
Denver will next take on the Browns on Monday Night Football before going on its bye week.
More Broncos coverage:
- Analysis: After rookie QB Bo Nix powers sweep of Raiders, sins of Broncos past might actually be in the past: “The tide is turning.”
- Keeler: Broncos’ Bo Nix just made Denver history. He doesn’t get there without Courtland Sutton.
- Photos: Denver Broncos beat Las Vegas Raiders in NFL Week 12
- Broncos rookie watch: Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels trade haymakers in Offensive Rookie of the Year race.
- Broncos grades: Bo Nix’s run of high-quality football continues in Denver’s ugly-but-important road win vs. Raiders.
- Four Downs: Bo Nix’s connection to Courtland Sutton turns Sin City into Win City for Broncos.
- Broncos’ Justin Strnad after Nik Bonitto recorded 10th sack vs. Raiders: “Get him that bag.”
- Broncos DE Zach Allen inactive vs. Raiders; Riley Moss exits game with knee injury.
- Raiders QB Gardner Minshew leaves game vs. Broncos with injury.
Fourth-quarter updates
Sacked (5:26 p.m.): Jonah Elliss sacks
Losing streak nears end (5:19 p.m.): The Broncos’ eight-game losing streak in road games vs. the Raiders is all but done.
Yet another demon exorcised by Sean Payton. — Schubert
Field goal, Broncos (5:15 p.m.): Wil Lutz nails 33-yard field goal. It’s his fifth of the game. Broncos 29, Raiders 19 with 1:56 left in the game. — Nguyen
Casa Bonitto (5:10 p.m.): Strip sack, Nik Bonitto. That’s gonna be game. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s sack No. 10 for Nik Bonitto.
Denver checking so many boxes right now. A double-digit sack man — the first since 2018 — is a big one. — Schubert
Nik Bonitto’s 10th sack of the season makes him the first Broncos player to hit double digits since 2018. And with this one he pretty much called game on the Raiders. — Gabriel
Sacked (5:07 p.m.): The Broncos sacked Gardner Minshew. The Raiders quarterback looks hurt. — Nguyen
That might be it for Gardner Minshew.
Jonathon Cooper and Cody Barton take the Raiders QB down on his shoulder, and he’s not moving that left arm. — Schubert
Three-and-out (5:06 p.m.): This thing ain’t over yet.
Bo Nix throws three straight incompletions and now the Raiders are going to get the ball back trailing 26-19 with 3:12 to go. — Schubert
The Broncos decided to run three passing plays. Only 26 seconds ticked off the clock. — Nguyen
Sean Payton’s done a good job managing this game.
Three straight incompletions leading by 7 with four minutes left, however, is very much not good. — Gabriel
Well that was some awful play calling. #Broncos take like 10 seconds off the clock.. Three plays, three passes. Raiders will get ball back with all of their timeouts down 7. What in the actual heck? — Renck
Field goal, Raiders (5:01 p.m.): Daniel Carlson nails a easy 22-yard field goal to cut Denver’s lead to seven. Broncos 26, Raiders 19 with 3:38 to go. — Nguyen
QB1 (4:58 p.m.): Bo Nix has 20 TDs and two turnovers over his last 10 games. Best nine-game stretch by a rookie since 2000 entering the game. But go ahead and insist he’s a low-ceiling, system QB. Make it make sense. He’s the best thing to happen to Broncos since Peyton Manning retired. It is OK to say he’s doing well. It really is. — Renck
Sutton (4:55 p.m.): Vele/Franklin keep coming … and coming. But where would Bo Nix be without Courtland Sutton? — Keeler
Touchdown, Broncos (4:52 p.m.): Bo Nix connects with Courtland Sutton in the back of the end zone with a 4-yard touchdown pass. It caps a seven-play, 70-yard drive. Broncos 26, Raiders 16 with 5:30 to go. — Nguyen
Mimsy (4:51 p.m.): Bo Nix to Marvin Mims Jr. for a 36-yard catch-and-run. First-and-goal at the 4-yard line for the Broncos. — Nguyen
Vele kinda day (4:49 p.m.): Devaughn Vele up to six catches (seven targets) and 80 yards. — McFadden
Field goal, Raiders (4:43 p.m.): Daniel Carlson nails a 53-yard field goal. Broncos 19, Raiders 16 with 8:59 to go in the game. — Nguyen
Field goal, Broncos (4:32 p.m.): Wil Lutz nails 45-yard field goal. Broncos 19, Raiders 13 with 12:05 to go. — Nguyen
If the Broncos lose this game, it’s because they kept kicking field goals. — Schubert
Wil Lutz now 4/4 on the day and the Broncos lead 19-13 with 12:05 left. — Gabriel
To the Maxx (4:32 p.m.): Maxx Crosby has a sack and three TFLs so far today. Just another day at the office for him against the Broncos. — Gabriel
Third-quarter analysis — Broncos 16, Raiders 13
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: If the Broncos walk out of here with an ugly win, don’t forget the sequence in which they drove 40 yards from their own 1, punted, got a three-and-out and flipped field position entirely.
Not sexy, but sometimes that’s how you’ve got to win games on the road in the division.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: The football gods still love Bo Nix. Counted at least two dropped Vegas picks … Raiders gonna Raiduh. One more score should be enough to put a bad Silver and Black bunch away. And Courtland Sutton isn’t just a Pro Bowler — he’s making a case to be THIS TEAM’s MVP. (And that’s given a smothering defense with a ton of stars on that side of the ball.)
Troy Renck, sports columnist: Broncos controlled the tempo and field position better. They went 3-for-5 on third down. Nix’s ability to take chances and take care of the ball continues to show up.
Matt Schubert, sports editor: The Broncos have officially reached the point where they can submit a C+ effort and still control a game against the likes of the Las Vegas Raiders. Courtland Sutton has been a revelation. And Denver is one TD away from setting up a VERY interesting Monday night at Mile High.
Third-quarter updates
Courtland. Sutton. (4:24 p.m.): Courtland Sutton: 7 targets, 7 catches, 95 and a TD.
And a handful of third-down conversions, including that one. — Gabriel
Courtland Sutton has six catches for 78 yards and touchdown in the third quarter alone. — McFadden
Courtland Sutton’s case for a Pro Bowl selection is growing by the week. — Schubert
Courtland Sutton tracking for his third 100-yard game in his last five. Become a reliable target for Nix. He has modest numbers for the season, but will reach 1,000 yards at this point. — Renck
Courtland Sutton now has 5,001 yards receiving in his career with the Broncos. He is the 11th player in a Denver uniform to reach that mark. — Nguyen
No fear (4:22 p.m.): The Raiders are striking very little fear into the Broncos right now. Put another one in the end zone here and this game is done. — Schubert
Broncos’ last drive started inside their own 1-yard line.
This one starts at their own 46. Let’s see if they can make it pay. — Gabriel
Drive stalls (4:16 p.m.): Bo Nix saved a sack on third-and-7 by making Maxx Crosby miss, but Broncos will punt anyway.
Still, productive drive for Denver to move it 40 yards out of its own end zone and flip field position. — Gabriel
Touches (4:14 p.m.): You know, you just gotta get Lil’Jordan Humphrey touches. — Schubert
Sutton vibes (4:14 p.m.): Make that two Sutton catches on third down this drive for Sutton. The chemistry between Sutton and Nix is real. — Schubert
Third-down conversion (4:12 p.m.): Broncos went no-huddle on third and inches, showed sneak or interior run and then hit Sutton on a crosser. Good stuff from Bo Nix and company. — Gabriel
Courtland Sutton’s heater continues. — Schubert
Sutton on the day: Five catches, 68 yards and a touchdown. — Nguyen
Riley Moss update (4:08 p.m.): Broncos say CB Riley Moss has been ruled OUT with the knee injury. — Gabriel
Big hit (4:08 p.m.): Probably fortunate Pat Surtain II didn’t get a penalty on that third-down incompletion. Would have been borderline, but he did appear to make contact with Bowers’ facemask first on the hit. — Gabriel
Pat Surtain II just delivered a MASSIVE hit on Brock Bowers, who only has two catches today. — Schubert
Surtain with big hit on Bowers on third down. A little surprised that wasn’t flagged given how shots to head-upper-body are officiated. — Renck
Casa Bonitto (4:07 p.m.): Not blocking Nik Bonitto is an interesting strategy. — Schubert
Touchdown, Broncos (4 p.m.): Well, that was quick. Bo Nix finds Courtland Sutton in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass. Broncos 16, Raiders 13 with 10:49 to go in the third quarter. — Nguyen
Courtland Sutton says, “You got Mossed.” Snatches Nix pass over CB’s head. Broncos in the lead. Perfect pass by Nix. Even better catch by Sutton. 16-13 Broncos lead as Nix connects on 15th TD pass.
That was drive in the past where Broncos would have stalled out because of conservative or ineffective QB play. Nix trusting Sutton to win his one on one shows how their relationship has developed and reflects Nix’s confidence. — Renck
Courtland Sutton one-on-one. Not a 50-50 ball. Broncos touchdown, and I have a feeling this thing is about to turn. — Schubert
Put another on the Courtland Sutton highlight reel. Wow. — Gabriel
Sammy Hagar, who “sang” at halftime, got the Broncos fired up to start the third. I’m sure of it. (Also, Courtland Sutton ain’t bad.) — Keeler
Picked (3:58 p.m.): One play after Denver’s first sack of the game, they hit Minshew again and Brandon Jones picks the overthrow.
Broncos very much in business. — Gabriel
Loudest cheer in a while at Allegiant on that Jones pick. apountry repping in Nevada, big-time. — Keeler
The last time these two teams play, a Gardner Minshew goal line interception changed the complexion of the game. Could this one be the same? — Schubert
Cooper gets pressure and Minshew air mails pass over the middle right to safety Brandon Jones. Broncos in business. — Renck
Nix Gen Stats (3:57 p.m.): Bo Nix has faced Cover 0 on 23.8% of his dropbacks this afternoon. He has gone 0 for 5 in those situations, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats. — McFadden
Sacked (3:57 p.m.): Malcolm Roach sacks Gardner Minshew for the 4-yard loss. — Nguyen
Three-and-out (3:53 p.m.): And Denver goes three-and-out to open the third quarter. This game is trending quickly toward concerning. — Gabriel
Riley Moss (3:52 p.m.): Haven’t seen Riley Moss on the Broncos sideline yet as the third quarter gets going. — Gabriel
Wrong way (3:52 p.m.): Another negative play to start the second half. That’s No. 5 for the Broncos. — Schubert
Halftime analysis — Raiders 13, Broncos 9
Ryan McFadden, beat writer: The Broncos have played sloppy football all around. Nix nearly had two interceptions, McGlinchey was penalized three times and the defense gave up a pair of explosive plays during the final seconds of the second quarter.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: The FG unit’s sorted out, at least. Vele and Franklin keep taking baby steps. Everythins else? Yuck. Feels like we’re 30 minutes away from a missed opportunity.
Troy Renck, sports columnist: Broncos trail 13-9 at half. They are following formula to lose road games. Kick field goals. And kick self in the groin in red zone with dumb penalties and missed assignments. Need to establish the run to set up play action. Also, #Broncos D clearly missing inside rush from Zach Allen.
Matt Schubert, sports editor: Did the Broncos just sleepwalk through the first half in Las Vegas? Yes. Will they beat the Raiders anyway? Probably. Nevertheless, they’re in for a dogfight, and Sean Payton has to come up with some solutions for the Raiders’ rush.
Second-quarter updates
Riley Moss update (3:38 p.m.): Broncos say Riley Moss is questionable to return with a knee injury. — Gabriel
Field goal, Raiders (3:36 p.m.): Daniel Carlson nails the 34-yard field goal. Raiders 13, Broncos 9 at halftime. — Nguyen
Missing Allen (3:35 p.m.): Zach Allen’s value to defense is showing up today. — Renck
Moss injury update (3:32 p.m.): Riley Moss is out of the blue medical tent and walking to the locker room with Broncos training staff. — Gabriel
Riley Moss injured (3:30 p.m.): Broncos cornerback Riley Moss walks off the field on his own power after getting injured. — McFadden
Riley Moss grabbing his right knee after helping with tackle. Ugh. Looked like friendly fire as Cody Barton’s elbow caught Moss on right knee as it was planted… As Ryan said, he walked off the field. Good sign. — Renck
Field goal, Broncos (3:27 p.m.): Raiders 10, Wil Lutz 9. — Schubert
Wil Lutz has hit from 38, 53 and now 54 in the first half today. — Gabriel
Broncos’ Wil Lutz shaves deficit to 10-9 with 53 seconds left in half. They have 162 yards of offense, but are 1-for-5 on third down, and been a tire fire in the red zone. — Renck
Offensive woes (3:26 p.m.): Approaching 20 dropbacks for Nix in first half. Not ideal. Broncos can eat with north-and-south run game. Getting a little cute at times. — Renck
Bo Nix clearly thought Adam Trautman was going to keep going forward on that play. Nearly picked off. Just a sloppy, sloppy start for Denver. — Schubert
Wrong way (3:24 p.m.): Way too many negative plays for the Broncos so far. — Schubert
Broncos forget how to run an offense as soon as they get into Raiders territory. — McFadden
Going deep (3:23 p.m.): The Broncos’ best answer for when the Raiders bring pressure today is “throw it up the sideline.” Finally got one to hit thanks to a DPI. — Gabriel
Smart move by Nix. Full-out blitz. Give Sutton a 50-50 ball. Draws PI. — Renck
Offensive calls (3:20 p.m.): The Broncos are averaging 4.9 per carry but hit the two-minute warning with 16 drop-backs and nine called runs so far. — Gabriel
Estime time (3:19 p.m.): Good to see Estime getting some run. Can’t avoid the obvious. Need him to get more reps. — Renck
Special teams play (3:16 p.m.): Raiders TD drive: Started with a 59-yard kick return.
Raiders FG drive: Kept alive by a 34-yard fake punt conversion. — Gabriel
Field goal, Raiders (3:13 p.m.): Colorado native Daniel Carlson nails the 34-yard field goal for Vegas. Raiders 10, Broncos 6 with 3:48 to go in the half. — Nguyen
RB troubles (3:10 p.m.): Broncos have at time struggled to deal with RBs in the passing game this year and that’s definitely the case today with Ameer Abdullah. — Gabriel
Coaching change (3:10 p.m.): Fun fact: Raiders PR announced before the game that special teams coordinator Tom McMahon would not be coaching today’s game vs. Denver. Derius Swinton II is handling the show. — Schubert
Fake punt (3:08 p.m.): Broncos special teams having it worst week … since two weeks ago. — Schubert
Broncos allowed a 59-yard kickoff return. And now a 34-yard pass on a fake punt. Not a great day for special teams. — Renck
Field goal, Broncos (3:02 p.m.): Wil Lutz nails the 53-yard field goal. Raiders 7, Broncos 6 with 9:21 to go in the second quarter. — Nguyen
Rough sequence for the Broncos’ offensive front. Raiders are getting through clean on stunts and twists. Two drives into Las Vegas territory, two field goals. — Schubert
Broncos shave deficit to 7-6 on 53-yard FG from Lutz. Broncos doing well in spurts, but sabotaging drives with missed assignments, penalties. O-line needs to play much, much better. — Renck
I’m not sure what Bo Nix could have done differently on that particular sack, but I do find it sort of humorous that when the pass-pro results are good, Sean Payton gives Nix the credit and when it’s bad, the OL gets the blame. — Gabriel
Mismatch (3 p.m.): I’m not a football expert, but I’m going out on a limb to say Nate Adkins vs. Maxx Crosby is a mismatch. — Gabriel
Vele and Adkins have completely whiffed on blocks on Crosby, blowing up run plays. Might be time to run plays away from the one-man wrecking ball. — Renck
Coverage (2:54 p.m.): I understand Vance Joseph’s aggressive scheme creates some odd assignments. But other than Von Miller, I am not crazy about edge rushers in coverage. And Broncos seem intent on doing it every week with rookie Jonah Elliss. Just tough duty. — Renck
Touchdown, Raiders (2:49 p.m.): Raiders got rookie OLB Jonah Elliss in coverage twice on that drive, the second a TD pass from Minshew to Ameer Abdullah. — Gabriel
So does anyone wearing No. 8 for Raiders kill the Broncos? Asking for a friend. — Renck
Gardner Minshew finds Ameer Abdullah for a 6-yard touchdown pass, capping a seven-play, 40-yard drive. Raiders 7, Broncos 3 with 13:36 to go in the second quarter. — Nguyen
Gardner Minshew giveth and taketh. Right now, he’s taketh-ing. The Broncos LB didn’t have much of a chance covering Ameer Abdullah on that one. — Schubert
First-quarter analysis — Broncos 3, Raiders 0
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: A 3-0 start is far from a big problem for the Broncos, but so far this game has suspicious Allegiant Stadium Clunker undertones.
Ryan McFadden, beat writer: Sloppy effort by the Broncos. From penalties to allowing a 59-yard return, it wasn’t the cleanest start for Denver.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: Never underestimate the Broncos’ curious ability to play down to whatever level of Hades the Raiders are playing at.
Troy Renck, sports columnist: As someone on my Twitter feed said, the idea was to play the Raiders, not play like the Raiders. Broncos have too many penalties and mistakes. Clear path to win if run the ball and add TE chipping help for McGlinchey vs. Crosby. Broncos lead 3-0 after first quarter.
Matt Schubert, sports editor: Did the Broncos stay up late for F1?
First-quarter updates
Special teams (2:42 p.m.): Where have you gone Mike Westhoff? apountry turns its eyes to you. — Renck
Maybe the first real bad rep on kickoff all year for Denver. At least that I can recall. — Gabriel
Injury update (2:40 p.m.): McLaughlin questionable to return, per the Broncos radio broadcast. He was running and shuffling on the sideline after he came out of the medical tent. — McFadden
Field goal, Broncos (2:40 p.m.): Wil Lutz nails the 38-yard field goal. Broncos 3, Raiders 0 with 2:47 to go in the first. — Nguyen
McGlinchey’s off to, shall we say, a rough start. Broncos drive stalls but gets 3 out of it. — Keeler
Clumsy mess in the red zone — two penalties and a 4-yard loss on run play… Leads to short FG from Lutz as Broncos take 3-0 lead. — Renck
Penalties (2:38 p.m.): Rough game for Mike McGlinchey. Two holding calls and now a false start. — Nguyen
Mike McGlinchey on pace for 12 penalties today. Not his best work. — Schubert
McLaughlin injury (2:34 p.m.): Jaleel McLaughlin jogging off now but not a pretty looking ankle injury at the end of that 18-yard run. — Gabriel
Was about to say it looks like it’s going to be Jaleel McLaughlin’s week in the Broncos’ whack-a-mole backfield … and then that. — Schubert
Ankle. (Winces.) Jogging off is a solid sign, though. Jaleel’s your hot hand. — Keeler
McLaughlin is in the medical tent. — McFadden
Third time’s the charm (2:32 p.m.): Bo Nix went deep to Troy Franklin twice, but couldn’t connect. The third time? A huge gain. — Nguyen
Another week, another Bo Nix seed down the middle. This one to Troy Franklin that evaporates a first-and-20 situation. — Gabriel
Bo Nix with laser to Troy Franklin. Franklin shows emotion. He has been open multiple times today and now has something to show for it. — Renck
Penalties (2:30 p.m.): Two Mike McGlinchey holding penalties already in the first 8 minutes today.
Tough duty against Maxx Crosby. — Gabriel
Running game (2:30 p.m.): Raiders are daring Broncos to run. Light box. And nobody in the middle of the field. McLaughlin with first down burst. — Renck
Casa Bonitto (2:29 p.m.): Nik Bonitto continues to show out. It’s not just sacks, but pressures with the former Oklahoma standout. — Renck
Cheap shot (2:26 p.m.): Apparently No. 58 for Raiders did not want his game check. That will be easy fine for his cheap shot on Cody Barton. — Renck
Not often you see the instigator, rather than the retaliator, get caught. But Raiders OL Jackson Powers-Johnson is the exception that makes the rule. JPJ, a rookie out of Oregon, very familiar with Bo Nix and company. Fun player, too, but that was a bad move on his part. — Gabriel
No conversion (2:20 p.m.): Bo Nix faced a ton of pressure that drive. He couldn’t connect with Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Riley Dixon punts it. Raiders to start at their own 8. — Nguyen
Riley Dixon may not be the best punter in the league, but he’s damn good at pinning a team inside its 10. — Schubert
That was hectic possession. Raiders have been among worst teams in getting sacks. Only have 19, ranking 27th. But they are getting pressure today. Nix has been on the move, leading to risky throws. Broncos are going to have run the ball vs. a light box. — Renck
Bo Nix has been really good on the move this year, but he was lucky not to get picked by Jack Jones on that third-down throw. And it matters, too, because the Broncos’ punt unit continues to be aces at pinning teams deep. — Gabriel
Third-down conversion (2:18 p.m.): Bo Nix finds Courtland Sutton for a 17-yard gain on third-and-13. — Nguyen
Rookie-to-rookie connection (2:15 p.m.): Bo Nix connects with Devaughn Vele for a 23-yard completion. — Nguyen
For all those asking why I approved of Broncos cutting Tim Patrick. The answer is Devaughn Vele. We all love Tim Patrick. This season was about transitioning to younger players. And can’t do that if they don’t get snaps. — Renck
Vele catches everything in his vicinity, even when he knows he’s going to get thumped. — Gabriel
Sanders (2:14 p.m.): Did a concourse walk pregame. Saw some jerseys in Vegas with “SANDERS” all over the back. But they were black and orange with a “10,” in honor of ex-Bronco EMMANUEL Sanders. — Keeler
Defense stands tall (2:11 p.m.): The Raiders were held to six plays for 28 yards on their opening drive. After the punt, Denver will start on its own 10-yard line. — Nguyen
Makes sense for Broncos to use Surtain, the league’s top corner, on Bowers. He is big enough to handle the assignment. And he made an athletic move to sidestep traffic to stay blanketed on that third-down stop. — Renck
Surtain vs. Brock Bowers is a fun matchup and one the Broncos probably would like to deploy as much as possible today. — Gabriel
D-line (2:07 p.m.): Broncos starting defensive line: John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach and DJ Jones. — McFadden
Coin toss (2:04 p.m.): Broncos win the toss and defer. Raiders will start with the ball. — Gabriel
Pre-game updates
apounty (1:49 p.m.): 10 minutes until kick off and there’s a fair amount of orange in the stands. — McFadden
Ranking the crowd as kickoff approaches might go 1) Broncos fans 2) empty seats 3) Raiders fans. — Gabriel
Playoff push (1:36 p.m.): Big game for Broncos’ playoff push as the Dolphins are suddenly becoming a threat along with Bengals and Colts. Also Bo Nix could help his Rookie of the Year bid
Jayden Daniels is struggling through a messy outing at home vs the Cowboys. — Renck
Injury updates (1:27 p.m.): Zach Allen’s watching the Broncos’ DL warm up and he’s wearing a boot on his right foot.
Denver does have S Brandon Jones (illness) available today, though. He’s active. So, too, is DL Eyioma Uwazurike, who will provide some depth on the DL with Allen out.
Expect to see an uptick in snaps for John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach and Jordan Jackson. Remember, Allen was playing nearly every snap for Denver’s DL. So it’s a lot to replace in volume and quality. — Gabriel
Allen out (12:37 p.m.): Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (heel) is inactive. This is the first time he has missed a game in a Denver uniform. — McFadden
Allen is obviously a big loss for the Denver defense. He’s been playing at a terrific level all season and leads NFL DTs in pressures so far this year. — Gabriel
Hello from Allegiant Stadium (12:27 p.m.): The Broncos have a chance to get to 7-5 today against the Raiders, but they’ll have to win in a building they’ve never won in to do so. In early warmups, Denver safety Brandon Jones (listed yesterday as questionable with an illness) is going through some pre-game running and backpedaling. That’s more than he did at any point last week when he didn’t play against Atlanta due to an abdomen injury. — Gabriel
Scouting report (11 a.m.): Check out how the Broncos match up with the Raiders in Ryan McFadden’s scouting report.
Game predictions
Broncos-Raiders NFL Week 12: Must-reads
Broncos’ rookie class, which Sean Payton predicted could be special, is starting to make its presence felt
Even before the NFL draft dust settled, Sean Payton felt good about the Broncos’ seven-man rookie class.
By the time training camp rolled around, he wasn’t afraid to say so publicly.
The calendar hadn’t yet turned to August when Payton told NFL Network, “I think you’ll see this as the season unfolds with this draft class: Itap been an impressive group. We all root for our draft classes and yet you go by what you see. I was talking with (owner and CEO) Greg Penner the other day and I said, ‘You just mark my words: Three or four years from now, we’ll look back on this draft class and it will be significant as to what we’re able to accomplish.”
Behind closed doors, he told his group of rookies the same thing. Read Parker Gabriel’s full story.
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton has been “security blanket” for Bo Nix during midseason surge
Bo Nix doesn’t care how tight the coverage is. If he sees Courtland Sutton running down the field, the Broncos quarterback is confident good things will happen.
That has been prevalent as Nix has gotten more comfortable over the past five weeks, and especially in Denver’s 38-6 win over the Falcons last Sunday. In the third quarter of that matchup, Nix rolled to the right and pumped fake before lofting the ball to midfield where Denver’s veteran wideout made one of his trademark contested catches over Atlanta cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr.
The play followed a familiar trend: As Nix’s production level has increased, so has Sutton’s. Read Ryan McFadden’s full story.
